Nancy Dedman’s Bud Oglesby Mansion on Strait Lane, Built by Erik Jonsson’s Daughter, Passing On to New Owners

This is really quite unprecedented: After a few months on the market, Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s beautiful Susan Marcus has sold a significant Dallas property at 10300 Strait Lane. That is, or rather, was, the home of Nancy Dedman, designed by Dallas modernist architect Bud Oglesby, built in 1971. The home was listed for $7,490,000 and closed Thursday.

Listed shortly before the holidays in October, this inclusive and exclusive estate is on 3.5 verdant acres with beautifully proportioned rooms taking in the full views of the grounds, including a private pond. It’s on the creekside. And it was designed by one of the city’s pre-eminent architects for the home’s first owner.

“Bud was a genius at siting,” says Susan, who was also a personal friend. She is absolutely correct.

Enslie “Bud” Oglesby was also master of light, which we need in these parts. Born in Phoenix, he was raised in San Angelo, graduated from Cornell and received his masters in architecture from M.I.T. His firm, Oglesby Group Architects, was one of the most significant architectural firms in Dallas for years, and he influenced a tremendous number of current architects, including modernist Ron Wommack. Oglesby also studied and lived in Sweden.

Oglesby recognized that people in Dallas “travel a lot, and there are so many choices of materials that it prevents a definitive look.” His homes sport a relaxed contemporary elegance, always exploring light but also accommodating the practicalities that a home must be functional to accommodate a family’s lifestyle.

In a sense, he was ahead of his time. We do travel a lot, in and out and to our second and third homes and ranches. And is there a definitive look to a Dallas home? In this period of time, yes.

If anything is definitive, I suggest that Oglesby’s homes may be the ultimate Dallas home, built at the peak of our home design years.

Oglesby also designed Nancy Lemmon’s highly distilled one-bedroom Highland Park home with incredible lightness, soaring ceilings, and precisely placed windows — but no skylights! This was her downsizing cottage, built after living in a 14,000 square foot home Oglesby also designed for her (and her ex-Dr. Mark) at 5411 Surrey Circle. That home was sold to the Kusin family, someone else is enjoying it now. Ironically, Susan Marcus also sold Surrey Circle to the Kusins, then helped Nancy purchase the site of her downsized home on Arcady. Nancy had asked Oglesby to design her a home half the size of her beloved Surry Circle, to replicate it if possible, but smaller. The architect gave her exactly what she wanted.

10300 Strait Lane is not a huge home, which appealed to the new buyers. At 6872 square feet, 10300 Strait Lane has wide galleries for art display connecting three main wings, all surrounding a central courtyard. The sitting room off the master has a fireplace and views the pond. There are four additional bedrooms each with en suite baths. The kitchen is in the rear with butlers pantry, laundry room, den, another fireplace and wet bar. The estate also has a pool, tennis court, 3 car garage, 2 room quarters. The home has had only two owners, Margaret Jonsson Rogers, Erik Jonsson’s daughter, who commissioned Oglesby, and the Dedmans. Asking price was $7,490,000. The lot is probably the most desirable on Strait, sitting in the middle of the street, selected back when the area was virgin, home-less land, ponies roaming and no waterparks.

Oglesby’s designs demonstrate his concern with the treatment of the intense light in Texas. He once said, “How you deal with light is extremely important. How you let it enter a building, how you treat it on outside surfaces–through trellises, shutters, courtyards and recessed windows–is crucial.”

10300 Strait was designed and built by one of the city’s most influential, historical architects, owned by two of the city’s most philanthropic families, sited on acreage that was once considered the country but now very much within the city. It manages to be a mansion elegantly, tastefully, without gobbling up the land with unnecessary square footage. It goes easy on the land, respects it, but still has a lot of living in it’s bones.

We hope the new owners will live here as beautifully and delightfully as both previous owners.